The CPN-UML on Tuesday elected its Lumbini provincial unit leadership appointing Radhakrishna Kandel as the provincial chair.

Kandel, who hails from Palpa, won the election securing 479 votes, defeating his closest competitor Hari Rijal of Pyuthan by just two votes.

The UML’s Lumbini provincial convention kicked off in Butwal on Saturday. As many as 1,004 representatives participated in the convention from 109 local units across Lumbini’s 12 districts.

The convention was viewed as a test of strength of party vice-chair Bishnu Paudel and General Secretary Shankar Pokhrel. Kandel is considered close to Paudel and Rijal to Pokhrel.

Despite several rounds of meetings and negotiations, the party leaders failed to elect the leader unanimously and decided to hold a vote. Paudel and Pokhrel fielded their candidates to lead the provincial committee.

The Paudel faction was upbeat after Pokhrel fielded Rijal, a central member elected from the tenth general convention who also became a provincial minister.

Bishnu Rijal, the party’s publicity department deputy chief, said around 60 percent of the office bearers have been unanimously elected while around 40 percent got elected through voting.

Party chair KP Sharma Oli had repeatedly urged the leaders to reach an agreement for the unanimous election of the provincial committee.

Addressing the inaugural session on Saturday, Oli had urged the representatives to elect the provincial committee unanimously.

“We have so many leaders here, so sit together tonight and come up with a solution acceptable to all,” Oli had said in his appeal especially to Paudel and another vice-chair Yubaraj Gyawali, General Secretary Pokhrel, Deputy General Secretary Pradeep Gyawali, and secretaries Gokarna Bista and Chhabilal Bishwakarma. All these prominent leaders are from Lumbini.

But the party chief’s instruction didn’t work as none of the sides was ready to relent.

The provincial leaders eventually chose to elect their leaders through a vote. And, among all the office bearers elected on Wednesday, the Kandel-led faction won all positions except the deputy secretary.

Addressing the inaugural function of the convention, even Paudel and Pokhrel had refuted reports that they were engaged in factional rivalry.

The two leaders claimed to be working hand in hand to strengthen the party at the provincial and national levels. They also told the participants to select their leader unanimously.

Observers say the takeaway of the convention is that party members prefer competition over nomination by top leaders even if that means challenging their leadership. More importantly, the result gauges the strength of the leaders competing to show their influence in the region. In the competition, Paudel prevailed over Pokharel.

Right from the start of the convention, the competition between the two leaders was keenly watched, especially as they are known for their loyalty to party chair Oli. In the last general convention held in Chitwan two years ago, Paudel and Pokhrel had staked claims to the post of party general secretary. At the eleventh hour, Oli had favoured Pokhrel.

UML leader Tanka Karki says choosing leaders through an election is natural amid growing discontent against the practice of top leaders installing handpicked leaders to crucial positions.

This is the first provincial gathering of the second-largest party after the tenth general convention was held in Chitwan last year and also the first after the UML aligned its organisational structure with the country’s federal structure.

Lumbini is a stronghold of the UML. Party leaders who have a sway over provincial politics can have prominent roles at the centre, with the support of thousands of party workers in the region.

Rijal said the competition and election should be taken as a normal and natural process in a democratic system. “The unanimous election is also a democratic process,” he said. “Thus, we tried for a unanimous election first while being completely open for voting.”

Rijal went on, “We practised internal democracy in Lumbini province.”

The party has already scheduled conventions in other provinces too. The convention in Madhesh will be held on September 22 and 23, Bagmati on September 25 and 26, Karnali on September 27 and 28, Koshi on September 29 and 30, Gandaki on October 2 and 3, Kathmandu Valley Special Province on October 6 and 7, and Sudurpashchim on October 8 and 9.

Party leaders say other provincial conventions will also see open and free competition.

However, Karki added that “the competition should be meaningful”.

“Competing merely for power, positions and privileges by ignoring grassroots concerns will be meaningless,” he said. “Yes, the Lumbini Province convention may have revolved around power to some extent, but that is not unnatural.”